Marchant de Lange conceded just three runs from the final over as South Africa pulled off a remarkable win to clinch the three-match Twenty20 series against New Zealand in the most dramatic fashion in Auckland.

Jesse Ryder had got the home side into a virtually unbeatable position with a typically powerful 52 from 42 balls, which followed a bright opening stand of 65 from Rob Nicol (33 from 19 balls) and Martin Guptill (26 from 19) in the first six overs.

However, Johan Botha turned the screw in the middle overs with a typically tidy bowling spell of two for 20, and de Lange stepped up to the plate at the death to restrict the Kiwis to just 31 runs from their last six overs.

Earlier, South Africa were restricted to a total of 165 for seven from their 20 overs as Tim Southee (two for 22) and Doug Bracewell (one for 28) kept a check on the run rate in the middle of the innings.

For the visitors, JP Duminy top-scored with 38 from 20 balls, while Wayne Parnell (22 not out) and Robin Peterson (11 not out) combined to take 27 off the last three overs of the innings.